Monthly Archives: September 2022

Ten years ago, in 2012, the nations atheists staged at Reason Rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., attracting a big crowd of up to 30,000. Four years later, they tried it again, but hardly anyone turned up.

You would think that atheism is growing, with the number of Nones, people who claim to hold to no religion, shooting up from 19% the year before the rally to 29% today. Back then the rally put forward the goal of creating a political coalition of 27 million atheists to counter the political and cultural influence of the religious right. But that effort seems to have fizzled out.

The online journal Religion & Politics published an article by Aysha Khan entitledA Decade After the First Reason Rally, What Happened to Americas Atheist Revolution?

For one thing, the Nones, upon whom the atheists put so much hope, are not predominantly atheists, with 72% believing in God or a higher power. As we have discussed, they are mostly spiritual but not religious, holding to an inward, self-constructed religion of one member.

Furthermore, it isnt just that Nones dont join churches. They dont join anything. The article quotes atheist blogger Hemant Mehta: The demographic shift is shifting away from organized religion, but not to organized anything else, which makes it all but impossible to ask them to do anything, Mehta said. Because most of them are apathetic. Theyre not atheists. Which makes it hard to get a movement going, much less a political force.

But there are other factors. The flood of New Atheist books in the 2010s seem to have hurt their image. Their hyper-intellectualism and brash anti-religious polemics left an unpleasant taste in the mouths of many non-believers and moderate believers, comments Khan. It became difficult to disrupt the longstanding image of atheists as angry white men in their 50s.

Another problem, in these hyper-polarized times, is that atheists have a hard time getting along with each other. There are right-wing atheists, as in the virtue of selfishness followers of Ayn Rand. And there are left-wing, social-justice atheists, as in classical Marxism.

Some atheists hoped for an alliance with Muslims, Jews, and other religious minorities to push back against the dominance of Christianity in the public square. But that was never going to happen.

Then there is the leadership problem. Comments Khan, Many of the old guard atheist leaders have faded from the mainstream spotlightsome in disgrace, like American Atheists firebrand former president David Silverman, after facing #MeToo-erasexual misconduct allegations.

In light of all of these setbacks, Mehta said that instead of trying to form a political block, atheist activists are now focusing their efforts on issues they care about, such as the separation of church and state and abortion. He also mentioned racial equity, feminism, and the LGBTQ cause, sounding like the sort of woke atheist that right wing atheists oppose.

But atheists shouldnt feel too bad about their setbacks. Though their numbers are smallabout 4% of Americans are atheiststhey exercise an enormous influence on the culture. Christians are far greater in number and have more political clout, but, unlike in other periods, they presently seem to have far less cultural, intellectual, and artistic clout than the atheists do.

As the number of committed Christians declines, perhaps the church can learn how to function so effectively as an influential minority.

Illustration: Sign of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Denver, Colorado, by Jeff Ruane, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Originally posted here:
Whatever Happened to Atheists? | Gene Veith - Patheos

I became an atheist early in my recovery and it remains an important part of my life to this day. I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in my twenties. Dealing with psychosis was confusing and frightening but when I tried medication everything changed. I had always been skeptical but when I experienced hallucinations that were spiritual in nature I was left with a lot of questions. A moment of clarity came when the anti-psychotics kicked in. My hallucinations arent real and neither is god. I was always looking for an explanation. I just never considered the explanation to be a mental illness. My diagnosis came with some relief this is treatable.

That moment of clarity flipped a switch and I declared myself an atheist. Years of suffering came to an end with a simple solution medication.

But what if that moment never came? What if I never had a mental illness? Would I still be an atheist?

First of all, my husband asked me this question and it is so hard to picture. My mental health symptoms started in early childhood so I really dont know any different. I am not my illness but it is still an important part of me. It often explains why I do the things I do.

My journey to becoming an atheist may be a little unique, but I still believe even if none of the mental health issues happened, I would still be an atheist.

Im a curious person its always been in my nature to question. I questioned the existence of god in childhood and the judgmental people in the town where I grew up definitely made me question the goodness of Christianity. Mental illness or not, I always knew I didnt want to be like them. Questioning at that time came with a lot of guilt and fear but I feel no matter what I would have ended up with the same conclusion I am an atheist.

Were there any specific events that led to your atheism? If those events hadnt happened, do you still think you would be an atheist?

Go here to read the rest:
Atheism and Recovery What if I didn't have a mental illness? - Freethought Blogs

What does atheism mean to you? Is logic ancient history? How is Calvinism changing the world? Put your thinking cap on, earbuds in, and get listening to our curated collection of Very Short Introductions podcast episodes for thinkers.

These four episodeseach under 15 minutes longcreated by our expert authors offer bite-sized introductions to four big concepts: atheism, logic, secularism, and Calvinism.

Listen to the podcast episodes below or subscribe and listen to the Very Short Introductions podcast through your favourite podcast app.

In this episode, lapsed Catholic, failed Methodist, and convinced atheist Julian Baggini introduces atheism, wrongly considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief characterized by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion.

But if atheism is not religions inverse, what does it mean to be an atheist?

Listen to Julian explain the historical accident of atheisms emergence in Western civilization and how we can understand atheist worldviews and beliefs.

Or subscribe and listen to the Atheism Very Short Introductions podcast episode on your favourite podcast app now.

God, time and change, truth and existence, language and paradox What I love about logic, personally, is the fact that it has these deep connections to profound philosophical questions.

In this episode, Graham Priest introduces logic, an area which is often wrongly perceived as having little to do with the rest of philosophy and even less to do with real life.

Listen to Graham explain what exactly logic is, why its so integral to our everyday lives, and how he encapsulated this simultaneously ancient and modern subject in a Very Short Introduction.

Or subscribe and listen to the Logic Very Short Introductions podcast episode on your favourite podcast app now.

[Secularism] is about the state maximizing freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of religion or belief for everyone regardless of their religion or belief, up toand only up tothe rights and freedoms of others.

In this episode, academic and activist Andrew Copson introduces secularism, an increasingly hot topic in public, political, and religious debate across the globe that is more complex than simply state versus religion.

Listen to Andrew explain why we must not neglect secularism and why debating and discussing secularism is of pivotal importance for world civilization today.

Or subscribe and listen to the Secularism Very Short Introductions podcast episode on your favourite podcast app.

Calvinism may seem arcane but in fact as recently as 2009, Time magazine chose Calvinism as one of 10 ideas that were changing the world. But that still may not mean people know a lot about it

In this episode, Jon Balserak introduces Calvinism, which has gone on to influence all aspects of contemporary thought, from theology to civil government, economics to the arts, and education to work.

Listen to Jon set out the character of Calvinist thought and offer critical assessment of it in this bite-sized introduction to the subject.

Or subscribe and listen to the Calvinism Very Short Introductions podcast episode on your favourite podcast app.

Want to learn more? Subscribe to The Very Short Introductions podcast and see where your curiosity takes you!

Featured image by Jusdevoyage on Unsplash, public domain

See the original post here:
Four Very Short Introductions podcast episodes to get you thinking | OUPblog - OUPblog

Photo credit/ Jennifer Flynn

Bridge to Terabithia has won the John Newbery Medal for childrens literature despite parental backlash.

Booklash is a column exploring the history of Banned Books in the United States, the reasons behind the arguments, and a students take on this attack on literature.

Bridge to Terabithia is a well-known novel that tugs at the heartstrings of readers. After the reader becomes entangled in the unlikely friendship of the two main characters, Jess and Leslie, they are taken through Jess journey of poverty and the struggle to fit in. Once Jess finds his way in life with Leslie by his side, an untimely and heart-wrenching event turns his life upside down.

Through the characters struggles, the reader is taught many valuable lessons that any child or adult could benefit from. This includes lessons of dealing with poverty and fitting in, as well as standing apart from the crowd, friendship, imagination, death, and ways of coping.

The author, Katherine Paterson, delved into this book with a highly religious background, a quality education, and much life experience that in turn helped set the scene for Bridge to Terabithia.

Despite the John Newbery Award and the numerous claims of the novel being a ground-breaking classic for childrens and young adults literature, many parents bristle at the cold-hard lessons found within the novel. These parents argue that the novel is too morbidly depressing for such young minds. There are also points of profanity, proclaimed witchcraft, and potential atheism promotion.

The novel uses words such as hell, Lord, and damn, which parents argue to be profanity that their children should not be exposed to. Other parents may argue that this claim is a bit pretentious and not adequate enough to ban the book for all students.

Within the novel, the characters escape the harsh realities of life by running to their imaginary kingdom, Terabithia. Terabithia is a hidden place among the trees and across a treacherous creek that is found behind their houses. Though the children use their imaginations to create their own little world, as many young children may do, parents unjustly attach the use of imagination to the idea of witchcraft.

Another reason parents attempt to ban this novel is the claim that Bridge to Terabithia promotes atheism. Although Jesss family believes in God and goes to church on Easter, Jess in his young age is unsure of whether he truly believes or not. On top of God already being put in question, Leslies family is said not to believe at all, though Leslie is interested in learning about God and perhaps finding within herself a way to believe. One could argue that perhaps the novel is not promoting atheism, but rather demonstrating a young childs journey in believing. Taking in consideration that Paterson comes from such a religious background and is a believer herself, it can be assumed that atheism was not her intended notion with the novel.

Parents would not be wrong to argue that the novel becomes depressing and may even be a trigger to young children that have experienced loss. However, much as the main character Jess learns to cope with the notion of death, the reader can also learn ways of coping with their own personal grief.

This begs the question, how young is too young to be exposed to death and grief? Against many parents wishes, death is untimely and it can therefore be argued that it is better to prepare children to cope with the resulting grief and to become aware of the notion of death. Being unprepared to face this notion with no understanding of death, children can become confused and angry.

Bridge to Terabithia was an outlet for Paterson and her son to finally cope with a traumatic experience in their own life. Patersons son unexpectedly lost his best friend at an early age. Neither Paterson nor her son knew how to cope with this loss, hence came the inspiration for Bridge to Terabithia, in hopes that the novel could help other young children and their parents if ever faced with such a devastating experience.

Despite the frequent attempts to ban and challenge Bridge to Terabithia, the novel remains an integral piece of literature for any age. The lessons found within can be beneficial to us all. If looking to read this novel, or watch the newer movie adaptation, be prepared for the roller coaster of emotions.

Contact the writer:[emailprotected]

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BookLash: Are the cold, hard realities found within Bridge to Terabithia not for young, innocent minds? - The Wood Word

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has started consultation on a major review of data it collects on religions.

The ABS undertakes regular reviews of standards to ensure questions reflect the changing nature of Australian society. According to the ABS, Although the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups (ASCRG) was updated in 2016, it still reflects the original 1996 version based on the social environment in Australia at that time.

The review, which includes a look at the associated Religious Affiliation Standard (the Standard), will be guided by consultation with stakeholders from religious groups and data from the 2021 census to offer a standard that is more reflective of contemporary society.

ABS documents discussing the scope of the review identify the relative level of sub-classification in Christian and non-Christian religions as a significant area for reform.

Currently, the standard includes a pick list with seven Christian denominations, but only broad categories for Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Although participants are able to fill out any religion in the other category, the inclusion of a pick list compels some respondents to make a choice rather than write which religion they most closely identify with, according to the agency.

The pick list was designed to make completing census forms easier and is similar to other census questions (e.g. Country of birth), the ABS said.

However, feedback indicates that people not affiliated with any of the groups in this list feel excluded.

For example, people affiliated with the Macedonian Orthodox religious group felt they were being asked to mark the Greek Orthodox box because it was in the pick list, and Macedonian Orthodox was not, the agency explained.

The review will also try to answer whether secular beliefs, like atheism and agnosticism, should continue to be distinguished from no religion, and address inconsistencies in the way data for different religions and denominations is coded by the ABS.

The new ASCRG will be released in December 2023, with the new standard expected to be applied in the 2026 census.

Public consultations will run to 18 November, to be followed by additional post-consultation stakeholder engagement. More detailed information is available on the ABS Consultation Hub.

READ MORE:

Millennials growing while religion declines, shows 2021 Census

See the article here:
ABS to consult on religious classifications - The Mandarin

Liberals love to talk about all the words that Shakespeare invented. They love to use words based in mythology. But bring up the influence of the Bible and theyll start hissing like a viper. Everything they claim to be is nothing but a bad imitation of Christianity.

Their delusions have no basis in reality. The Bible has had a greater impact than Shakespeare or Mythology ever could. Not to mention the fact that Shakespeares work, with an estimated 1,350 Biblical references, is proof of this.

As for mythology, the Bible tells a story unlike anything ever told, most of all by myth, which is accurately a synonym for lie.

The Bible is the most influential book ever written.

From the works of Michelangelo to the films of Quentin Tarantino, the Bible is foundational. One of the most powerful scenes in pulp fiction is when Samuel L. Jacksons character quotes Ezekiel 25:17.

Reports about the spread of atheism often imply the death of religion, like its a victory. But really, what they mean is that they hate Christianity. What theyre doing isnt religious, its POLITICAL.

In reality, it could never lead to a post-religion world, because politics is a child to religion, so the collapse of religion would lead to annihilation.

This is not an exaggeration. Society itself is founded on religion. So while atheism may occasionally APPEAR to be on the rise, theres no such thing as an atheistic society.

Some of the Biblical phrases that appear in our everyday language include:

"eye for an eye"land of milk and honeyforbidden fruit"bottomless pit""two-edged sword""God forbid""scapegoatscandalLand of Nodby the sweat of your browapple of my eyefire and brimstoneashes to ashes, dust to dusta man after my own heart"broken heartwits endbite the dustput words in my mouthput your house in order"nothing but skin and bonesby the skin of your teethBehemoth"nothing new under the suna little birdie told merise and shinecan a leopard change his spotseat drink and be merrywriting on the walldrop in a bucketfly in the ointmentfour corners of the earthsee eye to eyesalt of the earthgo the extra milepearls before swinefall by the waysidestraight and narrowwolf in sheeps clothingblind leading the blind"the 11th hourkiss of deathgive up the ghostwash your hands of the matter""the truth will set you freetwinkling of an eyelabor of lovelive by the sword die by the swordfall from gracefight the good fightthe powers that beYou know the famous line from the song Money by Pink Floyd? Its a rip-off of Timothy 6:10.

But the Bible is even more influential than these phrases.

More than a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, the Bible reveals the foundation of language itself. In fact, the philosophical study of language is based on the prologue to the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Teddy Roosevelt once said that no other book of any kind ever written in English has ever so affected the whole life of a people.

A literary masterpiece written by uneducated men, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with between five and seven BILLION copies sold. For reference, an estimated 800 million copies of the Quran, and 200 million copies of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

The Bible is also the most shoplifted book.

It was the first book ever printed, after Johannes Gutenberg chose it as the first book for his printing press. Education as we know it is based on the Bible.

Christianity is the foundation of modern politics and law. Leviticus 25:10 (Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof) appears on the Liberty Bell.

When Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech on the National Mall, 250,000 people witnessed a sermon. He referenced four scriptures in the speech. Amos 5:24, Isaiah 40:4, Psalm 30:5, and Galatians 3:28.

Without the Bible, freedom as we know it could not exist. Sure, Plato talked about Democracy 300 years before Jesus came to earth. But Democracy is nothing without the political freedom that Christianity gave us.

The right to a fair trial appears in Deuteronomy 19:15 and Exodus 21:2325.

Christian monks founded the earliest health care systems using the principles of the Bible as their guide.

The Lefts obsession with destroying Christianity is the same as their obsession with destroying Western society.

They remind me of Daniel 7:25, which describes the Antichrist, And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

They speak like children, they understand like children, they think like children. Ultimately, theyre just hypocrites, who may be able to evaluate the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.

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In defense of the Bible - iHeartRadio